Introduction On Tabla Drums

By Benedict Perez

In the rich culture of South Asian music, the tabla is a major accompanying percussion instrument. Its name is derived from the Arabic word tabl which simply means drum. The origin of the instrument is still debated but it is suggested to have evolved from existing drums such as the naqqara, pakhawaj and dholak from over 300 years ago. It is most commonly found in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In its earlier evolutions, tabla is just one drum. It is just the dayan. It means right in Hindi and is named as how it is played - with the right hand. Its body is small and made of wood. The tabla we have today now includes the one played by the left hand called bayan, which is translated as left in Hindi. It is larger and is made of metal.

The head of the drum, called the puri, is made up of goat hide. An extra ring of hide is laid over the head as well as on the bottom of the drums. These rings hold the lacings, or tasma, on the side of the drums, which in turn control the tension and pitch of the drums through a number of wooden cylindrical blocks called ghatta. These are placed between the body and the lacings. There is a black circle in the middle of the drum heads called syahi made up of gum, soot and iron fillings. The syahi of the bayan is positioned closer to the side unlike the dayan's which is in the middle.

The characteristic bell-like timbre of the drums is made possible by the syahi. The tuning is different for each drum. The dayan is tuned to the tonic note of the vocalist or the instruments accompanying it. It has the higher pitch between the two. The bass tone of the instrument is produced by the larger bayan. The bayan's tune can be easily shifted with the position and pressure of the left wrist on the syahi. Thus it is not in monotone as in most percussion instruments and can cover a whole scale and also produce sliding notes.

Playing the tabla can be difficult to some percussionists as its principles are slightly different from the Western styles of music. The beats are conceptualized through mnemonic syllables called bol. To better understand and play it, one has to also understand the basic conceptualization of Indian rhythm.

Tabla can cover both melodic and rhythmic concepts in the Indian system. However, as in most percussion instruments, it is in the rhythm that it is mostly focused on. Just as the Western style has the beat, measure and cycle, so does the Indian style. The only main difference is that the latter focuses more on the cycle unlike the former which focuses on the measure and the beat. Timekeeping when playing the tabla is based on claps and waves. These claps and waves basically describe the measure of Indian music. It is important in the conceptualization and execution of the whole song as the other instruments also follow this rhythm as a guide. Thus the player can play in different syllables as long as the cycle remains constant.

When the rhythm and melody of the tabla are executed perfectly, it produces a rich and exotic sound that can stand on its own as a song but will also do very well when combined with vocals and other instruments. Learning to play may take time and dedication and will require a good understanding of Indian musical concepts but the fruit of it is rewarding to one's artistic satisfaction. - 23806

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If you want to listen and feel the beat of ethnic musical instruments, you shuold try celtic bagpipes. It has a distinct sound that creates music to hear. Or you may want to try bodhran.